OCEANSIDE: Surveys show signs of friction on MiraCosta College board

It's not Palm-gate, but signs of discord may be bubbling to the surface again at the sprawling MiraCosta Community College District.

A pair of surveys ---- released to the North County Times after it filed a
Public Records Act
request ---- indicate concerns about infighting on the governing board.

The first survey gauged opinions from MiraCosta faculty and staff. It gave high marks to college President Francisco Rodriguez, but contained plenty of criticism for the college's board of trustees.

The survey picked up on rifts among board members and said that some employees "believe that this is having a negative impact on the administration of the district."

The survey is hardly definitive: Only 58 faculty and staffers were contacted and 32 responded. More than 1,000 people work for the college.

The responses came from "key campus constituencies to evaluate the operations of the
Board of Trustees
," a report to the board said.

The findings will be coupled with another survey ---- the board's self-evaluation ---- to help set goals over the next year. That evaluation also contained plenty of critical comments about the board's ability to get along.

"The team nature of the board ---- call it collegiality and mutual trust ---- has not been sufficiently honored," wrote trustee Bill Fischer.

"We are seven separate individuals. We only work together as a team on certain issues," wrote trustee Jackie Simon.

Trustee George McNeil said in an interview that board members are divided in their support of Rodriguez. The surveys were released after a divisive vote last month on extending the president's contract.

"I think he's doing an excellent job, and there are other people on the board who don't feel that way," he said.

McNeil was among the trustees who, after thinking they had agreed in a recent closed session to extend Rodriguez's contract by two years, were miffed to learn that no official action had been taken. A divided board agreed to extend the contract by a year in a subsequent vote.

Rodriguez could not be reached for comment late last week.

Several board members declined to comment about the surveys. Others were tepid in their remarks.

Nearly all who were contacted noted concerns that the documents could negatively affect plans for the college district's
first bond
on the ballot since it built its Oceanside campus in 1964. A decision to put the measure before voters in the November election could come next month.

The bond, which would bring in more than $500 million, would finance new buildings for science and nursing instruction, retrofit older structures and renovate others.

Gloria Carranza, who has been on the MiraCosta College District's board for some 18 years and now serves as its president, urged caution against reading too much into the reports.

"Everybody on the board is totally committed to and cares deeply about being stewards of the public trust. Sometimes boards have bumps in the road. This is a bump in the road, and we're going to address it."

The surveys are scheduled to come up during Tuesday's meeting, scheduled to start at 3 p.m., at the district's San Elijo campus in Cardiff.